They've arrived!

Kris, Andy, Sam and Anna arrived on Friday to a very un-Sydney morning with rain and a temperature in the low 20s. They survived incredibly well on the flight with Sam sleeping quite a lot on both legs although the same could not be said of Anna. After some breakfast we caught up on news whilst the kids tried to put together the train that goes under the Christmas tree which is great fun except for the fact that there's no volume other than full blast to the christmas songs that it plays! Kris and Andy managed a 2 hour refresher sleep in the morning and then it was all systems go with a trip down to Manly for a bracing walk and a play in the sand.

The weather was much brighter on Saturday which prompted a trip out on the motor boat with a brief tour of Sydney harbour and of course St Jude - the count down is very much on. We opted for a relatively quiet evening with the kids all shattered after the fresh air, sun and lots of swimming.

Sunday was once again overcast which we decided was perfect for some sightseeing so we took a ferry into the City and wandered around the Opera House and Botanical gardens with the children finding trees to climb before heading to CentrePoint tower for amazing views of the city and beyond. What was supposed to be a quiet evening ended up as a party with Craig and the Rumbolds round for an impromptu dinner - always the best kind!

I staggered into work very much the worse for wear this morning whilst the others packed up the motor boat for a day out on Pittwater. The 4 cousins are having a fantastic time together and it's constantly all go with almost no sleep during the day and lots of shenanigans at night after "lights out"!

Only 5 more sleeps until the start of the Sydney-Hobart. Jules is beginning to think about reducing his alcohol intake and I've recommended he starts wearing ear plugs at night so as not to be disturbed by sleep-walking children. The long term weather forecast is currently predicting a 20-30 knot southerly for the first 2 days of the race which will mean a fast start but will also sort the men from the boys in terms of sea sickness.